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GCSE Workshops

Intriguing curriculum linked GCSE physics workshops and lectures for your classroom or school

Ongoing

Years 9 - 11

Book free GCSE physics workshops for your class, delivered by a member of the outreach team from Queen Mary, University of London. Each hands-on workshop is tailored to fit into a lesson slot and covers one of a range of topics including:

Radioactivity – This comprehensive overview of the GCSE radioactivity topic is a chance for students to experiment with Geiger counters, investigate sources of radiation, model radioactive decay, and learn about dose and safety considerations.

Medical physics – Explore techniques used by medical physicists to diagnose and treat illness. Detect a blockage in a simulated organs using radioactive sources and image a mystery object in an ultrasound simulation. This workshop covers a broad range of topics including x-rays, ultrasound, MRI and PET scans, thermal imaging and ionising radiation.

Electricity and circuits – A fun and dynamic way of getting to grips with electricity and circuits. Participants model the flow of electrons using their own bodies and hundreds of coloured balls! Students will apply what they have learned by building a number of circuits using real components.

Electromagnetic spectrum – From creating radio waves to measuring the speed of microwaves, this varied workshop can be tailored to cover the science of any type of electromagnetic wave. Pupils will come away from this workshop with an understanding of the fundamentals and applications of this fascinating area of physics.

Roller Coaster Physics (2 hours) – This novel look at forces and motion is ideal for a double lesson. After a comprehensive run-down of Newton's laws, acceleration, work done and more, students will apply their knowledge in teams to build and test their own Knex roller coaster.

Spectroscopy – Students will be able build and use their own spectrometer to investigate spectra from the sun. This workshop covers emission and absorption of light as well as redshift. We will use high quality instruments to “guess the gas” from absorption spectra and see how this branch of physics allows scientists to probe the composition of distant stars and extrasolar planets.

We can also run a fantastic live action lecturesuitable for a whole year-group or school.

"Accelerate!" is a demonstration lecture all about particle physics designed for 11–18 year-olds and the general public. Through a series of hands-on demonstrations, the audience will learn how to drive a particle accelerator, from the thousands of small machines which are used in medicine and industry, to the enormous 27 km ring of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.